Unwinding device for a ball warp package



June 30, 1970 w. Ff. LAIRD ETAL 3,57392 I UNWINDING DEVICE FOR A BALL wARP PACKAGE I Filed M arch 15, 1968 5 Sheets-'Sheet 1 INVENTORS. WILLIAM F. LAIRD l NATHAN ROSENSTEIN ML BY @ffl ATTORNEYS.

w. F; LAIRD Er AL 3,517,892

5 Sheets-.Sheet 2 INVENToR-s. WILLIAM F. LAIRD NATHAN ROSENSTEIA BY Kaff-w AnoRNEYs.

June 3o, 1970 UNWINDING DEVICE FOR A BALI.. WARP PACKAGE Filed March 15 1968 June 30, 1970 w. F. LAIRD ETAL 3,517,892

UNWINDING DEVICE FOR A BALL WARP PACKAGE Filed March 15, 1968 5 Sheets-$heet :5

INVENTORS. WILLIAM F. LAIRD NATHAN ROSENSTEIN @JLM ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent O 3,517,892 UNWNDING DEVICE FOR A BALL WARP PACKAGE William F. Laird, Unionville, and Nathan Rosenstein,

U.S. Cl. 242-54 18 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A freely reciprocating support is provided for generally cylindrically shaped packages of continuous strands of textile materials. A pair of spaced rotatable rolls are mounted in a parallel fashion upon the support, and a textile package is cradled on these rolls with its axis parallel to the axes of the rolls. A free end of the textile strand is drawn off through a trumpet guide which is mounted in fixed relationship to a frame with respect to which the package support reciprocates. The parallel rolls are positively driven at a speed compatible with the speed at 'which the textile strand is drawn of by conventional textile windup machinery.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to apparatus useful for facilitating the unwinding of a continuous strand of textile or other material such as yarn, electric wire, etc., from a Wound package of such material. More particularly, it relates to an unwinding device for ball warp packages of textile material.

In processing the types of textile materials which occur in continuous strands such as filaments, tows, spun yarns and the like, it is known to wind an indefinite length of such material into a package known as a Iball warp. This package is then conventionally transported to another location, and subsequently unwound whereby the component textile material such as individual filaments and yarns are directed into and through other textile processing and fabricating machinery. Heretofore mechanims have been designed which function essentially by drawing off the free end of the wound strand of textile materials through a guiding device, whereby the package itself is rotated in the process of drawing off, and the guide means is caused to follow the pattern by which the package is wound with the textile strand. In the operation of these prior devices, the necessary tension placed upon the textile strand and the individual continuous filaments thereof, whether the strand be a filament, yarn, or tow, leads to the dragging of the strand longitudinally of the surface of the package while the package is rotating about its axis, whereupon a common complaint is the snagging of filaments which form a warp around the package and interfere with the proper unwinding thereof, eventually shutting down the unwinding operation, In many cases, the material which is thus snagged must be downgraded into waste material, thereby causing an economic loss.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of this invention to provide means for un'winding wound packages of continuous textile strands such as ball warps and the like, which means avoids the inherent problems of the prior art ,devices In general this invention comprises:

(1) Fixed frame means,

(2) Elongated bearing means mounted upon said frame means,

3,517,892 Patented June 30, 1970 ice (3) A carriage support means having bearing means afiixed thereto in complemental relationship to the elongated bearing means of said frame, said support being mounted on said frame, whereby said carriage is freely reciprocable along said bearing means of said frame,

(4) A pair of elongated spaced apart roller means rotatably mounted on said carriage support means,

('5) Guide means mounted on said carriage support for cradling a wound package of a continuous strand of textile material in juxtaposition with said spaced apart roller means such that the axis of said package is substantially parallel to the axes of said roller means, and such that the peripheral surface of said package contacts said roller means,

(6) Fixed guide means spaced apart from said support carriage medially of said elongated bearing means, whereby the free end of said continuous strand may be drawn through said guide means, and

-(7) A motive means connected to at least one of Said roller means to drive the same in rotation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF 'IH-E DRAWING FIG. 1 is a plan view o-f the best embodiment of the apparatus of this invention now known to us;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 taken along the lines and in the direction of the arrows II-II of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 taken along the lines and in the direction of the arrofws III-ITI of FIG. l; and

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. l.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, reference is made to FIG. 4, wherein there is a frame assembly generally designated by the numeral 10, comprising longitudinally extending outwardly opening channels 11 and 12, connected at opposite ends by transversely extending mounting blocks 13 and 14. Any suitable means of connection, such as welding or the like may be used, as desired.

,A pair of bearing rodi or shifts 15 and 16 are provided, extending longitudinally above channels 12 and 11, respectively, between opposite ends of the mounting blocks 13 and 14, with opposite ends of the bearing rods 15. and 16 being clamped within the mounting blocks 13 and 14. Suitable pins or set screws 17, 18, 19 and 20 may be utilized, as desired, for fixedly securing the bearing rods 15 and 16 against rotation within the mounting blocks 13 and 14.

A limit rod 21 is disposed longitudinally of the frame assembly 10, approximately midway between the bearing rods 15 and 16, the ends of the limit rod 21 clamped within the mounting blocks 13 and 14, also by means of pins or set screws 22 and 23.

A pair of adjustable collars 24 and 25 are fixedly secured at opposite ends of the limit rod 21, inwardly of the respective mounting blocks 13 and 14. Coil springs 26 and 27 are disposed about the limit rod 21, inwardly of the respective axially adjustable collars 24 and 25. Suitable washers 28, 29, 30 and 31 may be provided at opposite ends of the coil springs 26 and 27, in order to facilitate engagement of the ends of the springs 26 and 27, for compression of the same and equal distribution of spring pressure throughout the springs 26 and 27.

A bracket 32 is provided, horizontally and vertically adjustably secured to the channel 11 by bolts and elongated slots or other suitable means, the bracket 32 being vertically extensive an amount sufficient to mount a trumpet shaped guide 33 thereon, at an elevation and disposition later to be described.

A movable carriage-type supporting means 40 is provided, comprising three laterally spaced longitudinal mem- 3 bers 41, 42 and 43, connected at their ends by longitudinally spaced transverse members 44 and 45.

The members 41, 43, 44 and 45 define a rectangular configuration having corners.

The corners of the rectangular configuration are provided with open ball bushings 46, 47, 48 and 49, of the anti-friction type, being of generally inverted U-shaped configuration, having ball-type rolling elements therein for rolling engagement longitudinally of upper peripheral portions of the bearing rods and 16. l

A pair of inverted U-shaped brackets 50 and 51 are connected to, and in downwardly extending relation to the longitudinal -member 42 of the carriage-type supporting means 40. The U-shaped brackets 50 and 51 are adapted to fit over the limit rod 21, and move therealong with clearance over the limit rod 21 during longitudinal movement of the carriage-type supporting means 40 relative to the frame 10. Axial outermost surfaces of the U-shaped brackets 50 and 51 are adapted to engage, respectively, the axial innermost surfaces of the Washers 29 and 30 at the innermost ends of respective springs 26 and 27, for resiliently limiting the axial or endwise motion of the carriage-type supporting means 40 relative to the frame The longitudinal members 41 and 43 may be of angle iron construction, between which may be fitted at opposite ends of the supporting means 40, vertical upstanding mounting plates 52 and 53.

A pair of laterally spaced rolls 54 and 55 are provided longitudinally or axially extending between the upstanding mounting plates 52 and 53, with opposite ends of the rolls 54 and 55 being journaled within the mounting plates 52 and 53 for rotation.

A pair of vertically upstanding slotted standards 56 and 57 are disposed between the rolls 54 and 55, carried by the upstanding mounting plates 52 and 53. The standards 56 and 57 are of generally U-shaped channel construction, the channels opening toward each other to define cooperating guideways for a warp roller 58 to be disposed therein. The warp roler 58 will normally be cylindrically wound with a continuous strand of multiple filament yarn or other elongated material such that, as the strand is unwound, the diameter of the package P formed bythe Wound strand will gradually decrease, thereby permitting trunion ends 59 and 60 of the warp roller 58 to descend.

Those ends of the rolls 54 and 55 which are journaled within the vertically upstanding mounting plate 53 are provided with shaft extensions 62 and 61, respectively. The shaft extensions 61 and 62 have sprocket-type pinions 63 and 64 fixedly mounted thereon as by keys or the like, with a continuous chain -65 extending around the sprockets 63 and 64.

The shaft extensions 62 is connected through a flexible coupling 66 to a right angle gear drive 67 which is bracketmounted to the mounting plate 53. A universal connection 68 is connected to the right angle gear drive 67, to -provide rotational drive to the right angle gear drive 67, and to permit extension of the drive shaft 69 during longitudinal movement of the carriage supporting means 40 relative to the frame 10. This can also be accomplished through eddy-current motors or the like.

The other end of the drive shaft 69 is connected to an extensible universal joint 70, which in turn is connected to a right angle gear drive 71, then through a Variable speed drive 72 to the shaft 73 of a motor 74.

A pulley 75 is mounted on a shaft 73 of the motor 74, and is connected by means of a pulley belt 76 to a pulley 77 keyed or otherwise secured to a Winder drive shaft 78.

A plurality of spindle pulleys 79 are mounted for rotation on the Winder drive shaft 78, and are provided with belts 80 for rotatably driving a plurality of spindles 81 in their Winder K.

A pair of guide pulleys 82 and 83 are mounted as illustrated in FIG. 2, for receiving a strand S from the trumpet guide 33 and for providing a path of travel of the strand S in a reverse direction above the package P, the strand S being separated into a plurality of filaments F as the strand S leaves the pulley 83. The filaments F then pass around a rotatable roll 84 to their respective spindles 81.

OPERATION The device of this invention is normally disposed with the carriage supporting means 40 mounted on the frame 10, with the anti-friction ball bushings 46 through 49 freely movable along the rods 15 and 16.

When a package P of a multiple filament strand S is wound as shown in FIG. l and is disposed with its warp roller 58 within the guideways defined by the standards 56 and 57, the package P will tend to move vertically downwardly, with peripheral portions resting against adjacent peripheral portions of the rolls 54 and 55, as illustrated in FIG. 2.

The trumpet guide 33 is disposed in vertical elevation directly adjacent the roll 55, such that, regardless of the diameter of the package P, the take off of the strand S will always be adjacent the upper periphery of the roll 55 and thus the strand S will always enter the trumpet guide 33 in substantially the same straight line direction illustrated in FIG. 2. By driving the rolls 54 and 55 through the chain 65 and sprockets 63 and `64, at a constant speed, the rolls 54 and 55 will always move in the same clockwise direction illustrated in FIG. 2, thereby transmitting to the rotating package P a peripheral speed which will always be constant thereby always delivering a strand S to the trumpet guide 33 at a constant tension.

Because of the nature in which the package P is wound, means for freedom of axial movement of the carriage supporting means 40 relative to the frame 10` are provided through the combination of the anti-friction ball bushings 46 through 49 and the longitudinally disposed rods 15 and 16. The carriage supporting means 40 is thus freely movable in either longitudinal direction, depending upon the precise location along the cylindrical Wound package P from which the strand S is being unwound, in order that the strand S will always be fed to the trumpet guide 33 in a direction substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of rotation of the package P. This eliminates the necessity, as in many prior art devices, of drawing the strand S from the package P across the surface of the yarn package during which drawing of the strand S from the package P the strand S would be dragged across other windings of the package P, a condition which previously led to snagging and often breaking of the strand S, and which is eliminated by the device of the instant invention.

The extensible universal joints 68 and 70 permit transmission of drive torque to the rolls 54 and 55, regardless of the longitudinal position of the carriage supporting means 40 along the frame 10.

As has been set forth above, the strand S passes from the trumpet guide 33 and around the pulleys 82 and 83. The strand S then separates into a plurality of components such as filaments, tows, yarns, wires or the like prior to passing over the roller 84 and onto the associated spindles 81. It is not always necessary to separate the strands. Further, a single strand may be used instead of multiple strands. It will be noted that the spindles 81 are driven synchronously, from a common drive motor 74 to that which provides the rotation of the rolls 54 and 55 and consequent rotation of the package P. The device of this invention is particularly advantageous in thus providing for unwinding and delivery of a strand S at a constant tension regardless of which position along the elongated package P from which the strand S is being unwound, and regardless of the diameter of the package P at any given time, in order that the unwinding of the filaments F on their spindles 81 may be at a constant tension, and hence uniform.

It will be appreciated that the device of this invention has applications in fields other than unwinding. For example, it is conceivable that the device could be used for winding a package P with a strand S being directed in an opposite direction, and with a desired programmed back-and-fourth longitudinal motion being provided to the carriage supporting means 40, with reverse rotation of the rolls 54 and 55 to `facilitate a wrapping of a package P from a small diameter to a enlarged diameter. This eliminates the normal false twist that ordinarily creeps into the ball warps.

It will also be appreciated that minor modifications may be made in the structural arrangements of the device of this invention, and that substitution for the various com` ponents may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an unwinding device adapted for receiving a cylindrical wound strand package therein, spaced supporting means for supporting a package for rotation about its axis and means for carrying said package supporting means for free movement of the package in an axial direction during its rotation.

2. The device of claim 1, including iixedly positioned strand guide means for cooperation with said latter means in receiving an unwound strand in a direction a1- ways substantially normal to the axis of rotation of a package.

3. The device as defined in claim 1, wherein said latter means comprises fixed guide members disposed substantially parallel to a longitudinal package axis between said spaced supporting means, said spaced supporting means being disposed for axial movement relative to said xed guide members.

4. The device as defined in claim 3, wherein said spaced supporting means are operatively engaged with said guide members through anti-friction means.

5. The device as defined in claim 1, wherein xedly positioned strand guide means are provided for cooperation with said latter means in receiving an unwound strand at a constant velocity during strand unwinding from an elongated package.

6. The device as defined in claim 3, wherein resilient stop means are provided for limiting axial movement of said spaced supporting means.

7. The device as defined in claim 1, wherein said package supporting means include means for automatically positioning a package for a constant direction of strand take of from the package periphery, during a decrease in diameter of an unwinding package.

8. The device as defined in claim 7, wherein said means for permitting axial package movement comprises fixedly positioned guide members extensive in a direction parallel to the axis of package rotation and anti-friction bearing means carried by said supporting means for rolling contact along said guide members.

9. The device as defined in claim 8, wherein said guide members are shafts, and said bearing means are open ball bushings.

10. The device as defined in claim 8, including resilient means for limiting axial movement of said supporting means; said stop limiting means comprising at least one spring members fixedly secured at one end, with a free end being axially movable, and at least one stop carried by said supporting means for engaging each said spring member free end.

11. The device as defined in claim 7, including a fixedly positioned strand take off guide member disposed in position for receiving a take off strand therethrough.

12. The device as deiined in claim 11, wherein said take ofi guide member is of trumpet configuration.

13. The device as defined in claim 7, wherein said positioning means comprises a pair of laterally spaced axially disposed supporting rolls adapted to receive a package therebetween.

14. The device as defined in claim 13, wherein said device is adapted to receive a package having axially projecting axis portions at ends thereof, said positioning including upstanding generally vertical guideways at opposite ends of said supporting means for engaging ,package axis portions and guiding a package toward said rolls.

15. The device as defined in claim 13, wherein drive means are provided for at least one of said rolls.

16. The device as deiined in claim 15, including means for mounting a plurality of spindles, means for continuously separating a take 01T package strand into a plurality of components and guiding each component to an associated spindle, and means for driving said spindles in synchronous relation to said roll drive means.

17. A device for handling packages of the wound strand type, comprising a means for supporting a package for rotation at a horizontal package axis elevation dependent upon package diameter and means for guiding said supporting means for movement in an axial direction during rotation of a package relative to a partially wound strand thereof.

18. The device as defined in claim 17, including strand guide means disposed for passing a strand therethrough in a straight line normal to the axis of package rotation, and intersecting a lowermost peripheral package portion at a fixed angle relative to a horizontal plane regardless of package diameter.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 573,925 12/ 1896 Rosencrantz 242-54 2,331,454 lO/ 1943 Cooper 242-54 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 1,282,346 12/1961 France.

STANLEY N. GILREATH, Primary Examiner W. H. SCHROEDER, Assistant Examiner 

